New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-03-24
WOMEN AND THE LABOR PR01LBN
MISS VAN ErrEy ON THE BAD CONDITION OF SE-
MALE woRKERs-REMEDrEs PROPOSED.

MISS VAN ETTEx ON THE BAD CONDITION OF SE-
MALE woRKERs-REMEDIEs PROPOSED.
Miss Ida NJ. Van Eten gave the first of her lectures
on women ami the labor problem in the Madison
Square Theatre yesterday afternoon. Dr. william a.
Hammond introduced her to the audience Her SUD-
icct was /. Woman as Worker" One of her most Id
;3erested listeners was the Rev. Dr. Edward McGynn.
The number of women workers, Miss Van Etten said,
had grown enormously in recent years. Id toco
there we're over 5000. 900 women at daily work IN
the United States 105 600 more than there were IN
1870 And with the increasing demand Tor ~omens
work. there had been a corresponding draIt on
children. so that now unesxtn OF an .ne This
the country we've put to working tor q living. inns
vast force of unorganzed, ill-pad labor nau pusneu
new problems upon the economist am relorner'
Every one knew of the horrible. degraded, demoranz-
inc condition of the bulk of women in factories
or working at home In the tenements ne misery y,
this work could not be borne much longer. nay LAY
given TO the already oyercrowded employments now
alone open to women Mems work. Miss Van Etten
said. was not in theory desirable tor women. -, ~
all women could marry happily and men ana not oie
and leave widows and orphans. the question OF
women's labor would be easily settler. AS IL "a@,
women we're being forced more and more to support
themselves by their own work. And In thls WORE
they should be Justly and fairly treated. From the
start however, all possible determinations seemed to
be made against them. Male principals in the schools
cot from 81, 900 to $4,000 salary women got Dut
81 soc and 40 through the lower grades. In the
de partments at Washington men ana women often
did the same work. The men got pl. the womem
the other cnployments open to women. bookkeeping.
telegraphy, type writing, shop-work, factory work
The easier eiuployments too, those most suited TO
women were shut against them. The women workers
in the United states according to the last census were
pretty much included in these five occupations iaDor.
ers. searnstresses mill operatives. servants, and
teachers All OF these were overcroSded already.
Most OF them involved hard work and small pay
Women Miss Van Etten thought, should nave
chance to 20 into light trades like cuttrg and setting
iewelry making watches. doing metal work generally
and into all the light retail businesses like selling
cigars and tobacco. jewelry, books fancy work ana
ciothea The United States should take lesson III
this regard from France. where women carried on 40
much OF the retail business OF the cities and towns
No man there ever kept tobacco stand ana no
woman had work at binding tobacco IN the iac'ories
at starvation wages Each commune IN France main
tanned ut its own expense commercial school ana
trade school Tor girls md Young women There they
learned bookkeeping, commercial correspondence
dcsiLnng. iewelry work. and lot OF other Ilgbt
trades Such trade and commercial schoo should be
established here kept up first feihaps, by private
enterprise. but supported finally and improved and
siren gthened by the Government.